Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Day One Photos, Video, And Wrap

After watching the opening round of the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach I feel compelled to share a few notes with you all…

The new format is a heartbreaker! I talked to Dustin Barca the other day and wished him luck on the event. He told me he was headed down to Bells with "the whole entourage" meaning his girlfriend, one-year old son, and friend/caddy Stevie Woo. What sucks for Barca and his crew is that he got there, surfed for ½ an hour, and is now done. That's a lot of traveling to surf one heat…

Big guys own Bells. After watching Jay Thompson, Jordy and Taylor Knox rule their heats I'm convinced that one of them will win….Parko perhaps?

What happened to making the screen bigger when watching the live Web cast? While the feed is perfect, I'd like to have a bigger screen to watch the ripping. Rip Curl, please call your IT guy and fix this.

That said, why don't you tell us who you think ripped? While you're at it, tell us who choked too…

Jordy Smith ripping his way to victory in round one of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Snickers. Photo: ASP/Getty Images

BELLS BEACH, Victoria (Tuesday, April 7, 2009) – Round 1 of the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach presented by Snickers was completed today in three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves in the Bells Bowl, and the implementation of the new format, rendering the opening round an elimination man-on-man affair, saw surfers lifting their competitive game to survive a dramatic day of action.

Event No. 2 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is a pivotal point in the season and today's action saw 16 of the world's best surfers sent packing after just one heat. Despite the criticalness of the format, some incredible performances were logged at the historic venue.

"I am really good friends with Matt (Wilkinson) and it felt like an old times junior heat out here," Smith said. "I surfed my first overseas contest out here and it was against him. I was lucky the tide was a bit lower and it was walling up nice on the inside today."

Smith's mastery of the Bells Bowl today saw the young natural-footer attain the day's highest heat total of an 18.70 out of a possible 20, securing two excellent-scoring rides for a blistering and fluid series of forehand maneuvers.

"My normal shortboard is 6'2 ½" and Bells is kind of a sloppier and longer face so I brought my 6'3 ½" and it tends to get through the flat spots a bit better," Smith said. I surfed earlier this morning on the higher tide and struggled a bit so I was thankful for the low tide out there this afternoon."

Smith will take on Damien Hobgood (USA), 29, in Round 2 when competition continues.

"I am really happy," Wright said. "I went out there knowing that I needed to get a wave under my belt straight up and put the pressure on him. I did that and got the wave, surfed it all the way through and managed to get a little back up."

Wright's tenacity and solid game plan provided him with the win over his marquee opponent and the young goofy-footer will need to employ the same tact as he continues here at Bells Beach.

"Dane (Reynolds) is an excellent surfer," Wright said. "I let him have what I thought was average wave and he got a 6.8. He is definitely a solid competitor and I am just stoked to get through the heat. I had been watching a lot of heats and I thought that those guys that get the bigger score early are the one going through. I really focused on getting that first wave and ended up getting it."

Dayyan Neve (AUS), 31, into his third full season on the ASP Dream Tour, survived a hard-fought Round 1 heat against 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie Marlon Lipke (DEU), 24. With the new event format in full swing, Neve was vocal about the heightened drama associated with the elimination man-on-man Round 1 format.

"I was stoked to make it through that heat," Neve said. "I have been nervous for weeks. I am not a big fan of the new tem. For the sport, I think it would be better to have the extra round to get all the top seeds down like Kelly (Slater), Mick (Fanning) and Joel (Parkinson). Get all the crowd watching the top seeds as much as possible is good for the sport I think. So yes, I am not a big fan of it and I hope they change it soon."

Neve will taken on fellow Sydney-sider Kai Otton (AUS), 29, in Round 2 when competition continues.

Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7am for a possible 7:30am start.

The Rip Curl Women's Pro Bells Beach presented by Ford New Fiesta s its waiting period tomorrow and both events will be on call for a possible start.